Take a 4-day private 4X4 tour and enjoy VIP treatment. Your own driver guide, fully qualified and accredited, will allow you to discover the south of Morocco in the best possible way.
Destinations: Zagora – Merzouga
Availability: Every day at 9 am
Duration: 4 Days and 3 Nights
Category: Private Tour
Clothing: Comfortable clothes, hat, jacket and sunscreen, swimsuit.
Payment : Payment at the time of departure
Information:
Day 1 : Marrakech – Tizi n’ Tichka – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Agdez – Zagora
You start your journey to the desert in south-eastern Morocco through the High Atlas via the Tizi n’Tichka pass. Arrival at Ait Ben Haddou, after a guided walk in the village and visit of the Kasbah which is a famous place for filming in Morocco, you continue to Ouarzazate for lunch.
In the afternoon, you will continue south-east to the oasis of Agdez, where the amazing landscape of the Draa River begins. From there, the landscape will change radically from arid rocky fields to lush green oases bordered by palm trees. Upon arrival in Zagora, you will head to your traditional guest house for an overnight stay after dinner.
Day 2: Zagora – Tazzarine – Alnif – Rissani – Merzouga (Erg Chebbi dunes)
After breakfast, you take the road back to Merzouga through the Anti Atlas mountains where you may meet local nomads. You stop at the oasis of Alnif for lunch.
Passing through the holy city of Rissani, you arrive in Merzouga where you meet your camel caravan for a ride in the desert at the Dunes of Erg Chebbi. In the evening you watch the sunset, then you join your camp nestled in the middle of the dunes for dinner and a night in the Sahara.
Day 3 : Merzouga – Erfoud – Gorges de Todra – Tinghir – Boulmane Dadès
Wake up early to watch the sunrise and enjoy the silence of the desert. After breakfast, rendezvous with your driver for the Tinghir oasis and the Todra Gorges. You will discover the paths of the High Atlas and Berber villages and where you will enjoy an hour’s walk in one of the most beautiful palm groves of Morocco sheltering uninhabited adobe villages and kasbahs. You will stop at the majestic Todra Canyons where you will have a Berber tagine for lunch.
In the afternoon, you will continue to the Dades Gorges via the road of valleys and a thousand kasbahs. Dinner and overnight in a local guest house.
Day 4: Boulmane Dadés – Kalaa Mgouna – Skoura – Ouarzazate – Taourirt – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech
After breakfast, enjoy the panoramic views while changing the Dades Valley and the Rose Route. You pass by Kalaa Mgouna, famous for the plantation of Damascus roses, before reaching the Oasis of Skoura. You will discover the architecture of the desert fortifications and the way of life of the Berbers living in the oases. Lunch in Ouarzazate and continuation to visit the kasbah of Taourirt before heading back to Marrakech via the High Atlas Mountains and the Tizi n’Tichka pass.
Testimonials, information and travel tips
The oasis city of Zagora is an ideal starting point to start a trip to the Sahara.
Zagora was once a caravan station.
With about 40,000 inhabitants, Zagora is the centre of the Draa Valley, a river oasis that stretches from Ouarzazate to the Atlantic Ocean – theoretically.
In practice, the river sands at M’hamid, about 100 km south of Zagora. The Draa Valley is the most beautiful valley in the country for many connoisseurs of Morocco.
On the road from Quazazate to Zagora begins the southern road of the Kasbahs.
The Draa Valley is about 200 kilometres long. At the oasis village of Agdz begins a green and fertile strip with large palm plantations, which extends to M Hamid, also an oasis village, just before the border with Algeria.
Among them is Bernardo Bertolucci, who shot a large part of his film “Sky over the desert” here. Like a green ribbon, the river with its palm oasis runs through the landscape, surrounded by high mountains and countless kasbahs and clay villages.
Deserted Kasbahs near Zagora
Magnificent view from Zagora over the Draa Valley and the Middle Atlas Mountains
Roadmap from Ouarzazate to Zagora
52 days at Timbuktu is the last testimony of a time when Zagora was an important transit station for the Karawanan.
Today, Zagora is a modern garrison town, living off tourism, among other things. Camel touring agencies have mainly set up here, so that hardly any of the town’s guests escape the “blue men”, those blue men who pretend to be Tuaregs but are not.
The Draa Valley, between Zagora and Agdz, is one of the most impressive landscapes in Morocco. The imposing complexes of kasbahs, the strip of palm trees along the river and small orchards combine to form an oriental fantasy of a thousand and one nights. The mountain massifs around Zagora reach a height of more than 1,000 metres.
The cultivation of the oasis of Zagora is mainly for personal use. Irrigation systems can be observed where canals and barriers are used to uniformly irrigate the different gardens. The city itself has no special sights, but is an excellent base for excursions into the desert.
52 days after Timbukto, the old slave route passes through Zagora.
Sterile zone around Zagora in the direction of Algerein
Planting a fertile oasis near Zagora
As you know from the sign, you can reach Timbuktu or Mali by camel in 52 days from Zagora.
In the 16th century, the Arabs began the conquest of Morocco from here. The conquest of Timbuktu also began from here to control the gold trade across the Sahara.
Zagora was then an important stopover for the famous and legendary trans-Saharan caravans.
One of the main attractions of this desert region around Zagora is the Kasbah Hotel Porte in the Sahara.
Near the dunes of Tinfou you will find this true desert hotel. On the roof of this hotel you can enjoy a unique view of the stars through several telescopes without stray light. This observatory is unique in Morocco. For more information, please visit saharasky
The market day in Zagora is Wednesday.
It’s worth it. Sheep and other meats are sold there, as well as mountains of fresh mint, vegetables and fruit. A desperate jumble of goods of all kinds.
Please refer to our articles to learn more about Merzouga and ouarzazat.
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